Services

Family feud gang jailed

A MAN who survived being shot outside his York home last year has now been jailed for his involvement in a violent family feud.

Peter James, who suffered stomach and arm pellet wounds in an incident in Murton Lane in February 2013, is beginning a three-year, nine month sentence after being convicted of conspiracy to commit violent disorder.

West Yorkshire Police said he he was one of seven men jailed for their involvement in a longrunning feud that sparked a series of violent incidents, including one at a Leeds car dealership in which balaclava-clad men armed with machetes and other weapons burst into the showroom in pursuit of three other men.

“The shocking scenes were the latest explosion of violence in an ongoing feud between the James and Pattison/Patterson families and their associates,” said a force spokesman.

“In the background were two attempted murders – a shooting of a James family member in North Yorkshire in February 2013 and a machete attack on a member of the Patterson family in Cleckheaton in April 2013.

“A number of other ‘tit for tat’ incidents culminated in the violent scenes at the car dealership.”

Detective Chief Inspector Lisa Atkinson, who led the investigation, said the offenders were organised criminals who were prepared to use premeditated violence to seek reprisals against their rivals in the long-running feud.

“Their actions not only put the lives of their intended targets at risk but could easily have resulted in innocent members of the public being hurt,” she said.

“Their shocking behaviour unnecessarily created fear among ordinary people who witnessed it and it simply cannot be tolerated.

“These offenders have generally refused to assist the police and think they can take the law into their own hands to sort out their disputes. They think of themselves as untouchable but this case should clearly demonstrate that no-one is above the law.”

Serious Crime Prevention Orders were granted against James and the other defendants, which will last for five years after their release and place strict conditions on them, including requirements to notify the police in detail about their ownership of vehicles or mobile phones.

The Press reported last December how North Yorkshire Police had dropped their investigation into the Murton Lane shooting because there was not enough evidence to pursue a prosecution, with three men who had previously been arrested in Doncaster released without further action.

Ipsoregulated

This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's Editors' Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then please contact the editor here. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can contact IPSO here